The holidays are in full swing and along with the joy and excitement of the season can come an endless to-do list and stress! This holiday season, stay jolly and organized by remembering one word - delegate! Cut down on your never ending task list and anxiety level by letting others help. Shift your focus to accomplishing tasks that bring you joy, and enlist help for everything else that needs to get done. Santa has helpers, so why shouldn’t you?Not sure what or who to delegate to? Consider the following holiday tasks and suggestions for taking them off of your holiday plate this year.

Gift WrappingTake advantage of online and in-store gift wrapping services. Packages turn out beautifully and are free of charge at some stores. If there is a fee, it is usually minimal and you will more than make up for the extra cost in saved time and materials. Added bonus – you won’t have to figure out how to store all of those extra bows, bags and gift wrap!

CleaningHire a cleaning service to help you keep up and get ready for guests. If you have a regular cleaning service, schedule an additional session and have them help with extra duties like laundry, window washing or cleaning the oven.

ShippingIf you do need to ship gifts, forget standing in long lines at the post office. Instead, order free Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes and schedule free package pickups online at www.usps.com. When you use USPS Flat Rate boxes, you don’t have to worry about weighing and figuring out how much postage to use. Simply go to the website to purchase and print postage for the size box you’re using. Schedule a pick up (usually available next day) set your boxes outside and you done!

DecoratingIf you haven’t had a chance to begin or finish your decorating, hire a professional to complete the job. If you live in the Seattle area, Eliminate Chaos is available to help! Organizing Specialists will use your holiday décor to create a beautiful holiday wonderland in your home. Consider having the same team help take down decorations, pack and store them in an organized fashion after the holiday season.If you aren’t interested in standing on a ladder outside in the cold, consider hiring a company to hang your outdoor lights and decorations. Love Christmas Lights is an online directory of Christmas light installation companies. They connect homeowners with local Christmas light installers in their city.

ShoppingAvoid the lines and parking nightmares of the mall by completing your gift shopping online. You will get the same great sale prices online and stores often offer free shipping during the holidays. If you take advantage of giftwrapping options as mentioned earlier, when the package arrives on your doorstep, all you have left to do is put it under the tree.Gifts aren’t the only thing you can purchase online to save time and energy. There are several online grocery services that will deliver high quality groceries right to your door. Amazon Fresh and Safeway are two great options with same day delivery options.

CookingLet your guests bring a dish to your holiday gathering so you don’t have to cook it all. Guests are often happy and excited to bring and share their favorite holiday dish. When you allow others to contribute, they feel more included and it gives you more time to focus on your signature dishes. Be ready with a category or suggestions for your guests so you don’t end up with three green bean casseroles.

When you choose to delegate and let others help, you free your time and energy up for what is most important, spending time with loved ones. So go ahead, give it a try this year, you will be glad you did! Happy Holidays!

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Complete Your To-Do list With the Help of Wunderlist

Wunderlist is a to-do list application that can help you plan an event, create and share a shopping list or even project manage a complicated business project. Even better, the app is available for free on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and the Web, allowing you to sync with all of your devices.

The Productivity Book: 30 Professionals Talk About Their Time Management, an eBook by Doodle Featuring Laura Leist!

Doodle recently released an eBook The Productivity Book: 30 Professionals Talk About Their Time Management. The eBook is filled with personal tips, histories and advice from productivity and time management experts, including myself. You can view my personal tips and advice on pages 219 – 238 of the eBook, available for purchase at productivity-book.com.

"A big thanks to Julie and Terri for helping us to clear our clutter from our workshop and craft area in an effective, easy, non-judgmental way. My husband was blown away by the transformation, and we are liberated by the extra space and less "stuff". Thank you again, EC!" -Joyce and Marshall Rafferty - Seattle, WA .

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A great way to try us out and get some organizing done at the same time! For a limited time, we are offering an amazing NEW client organizing special. If you are not an existing client this is a great way for us show you how we can eliminate your chaos.